Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-08-27

those do who go much upon clay; when
they were on board they dressed like boat
men and they rolled like sailors. Joshua,
on the other hand, played three parts. AS
a miller, he had the reputation of being
grasping and greedy of gain, but honest in
his dealings. In this capacity he was al
ways foury, like his men; and had it not
been for the tar upon his fingers, you
would say he had never smelled salt
water. AS a sailor, he was as daring as
Dan, almost as skillful, and IS hard to
yield as Job and Jephthah. But he had
q third character, which he reserved for
dressed himself in o black coat and be-
came a primitive Methody; one of a GER
tain very small body so styled by them
selves, who met in a chapel about twelve
feet square, and took turns to preach and
pray. His Methodism has nothing to do
with my story, except to show the mas
terful character of the man He would
be a leader; he wanted people to think as
he told them, and he could only do this in
q dissenting chapel. Dan, who accepted
the authority of the Rev. Mr.. Burden and
the church, was, in his way, as religious as
he was honest. There is nothing, he fire.
quently argued, against smuggling, either
In Bible or Prayer Book. At the four
great festivals of the church he received
the sacrament; he slept every Sunday at
ternoon over ''Holy Living n Dying"
and he Kept, as have said, the root on
the parish church.
IL was among these people that L spent
the hrst years of my life. Such
education as l had was given me by the
rector at odd moments. could read, but
mad Few BOOKS, II those Knew by heart.
They We're Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Prog
ress," Robinson Crusoe' and one or two
more. Writing learned by slow de-
grees; my spelling has never, l own, been
correct, nor can l understand the fuss
which is made about that accomplish
ment. II the writer's meaning is clear,
why OBJECT to the omission or the addi-
ton OF Il letter or TWO! There was little
encouragement to literature in Rousdon
Farm. Job and Jephthah had learned,
like myself, to read and write; but rs
they never practiced either art and sup
plemented memory only by chalk marks
on the cart, l suspect they had forgotten
both. Dan regarded writing as useful for
commercial purposes and reading OF the
Sunday as III aid to devotion. In respect
to other uses there were instances which
he had heard of where n passion for books
actually led the victim, by imperceptible
degrees, to the gallows. Certainly in
| those years there were many, many roads
to that dismal tree.
l did not read much, my duties at home
were soon got through. the rest OF my
time L spent upon the water, alone or with
Dan and on the Cndcrclif. In the even
ing there was sewing. But I'LL day long
n all the year round, rain or sunshine,
l was in the open air, gathering flowers
in the Holmbush fields, climbing among
the bracken under the Pinhay cliffs, sing
ing all alone III the woods upon the hill
sides, out upon the sea in the dingy, or
IN summer bathing II swimming where
the rocks hid me from casual eyes which
never CHANGED to pass that way. 1t was
a lonely place, facing n lonely sea; few
ships ever sailed across that great bay
save the heavy craft which brought coal
from Wales, or the coasters which traded
from port to port, or the fishing craft from
Lyme anu Beer. ! had the sea all to my
self when l put ont i'll the dingy, ran up
the little sail and sat in the stern, tiller in
one hand and rope III the other, while the
BOAT shipped through the short crisp
waves wltha 1Rurlnurous "hisii, leaving
us ilttic whlte track oeAlnd' While my
fancy ran rlot, anu hau VISIONS such as
como 10 the young anu innocent OIL II
Soldeh anu impossible Iuturc, lying among
figures lhdistlhct ana misty.
AS for the times we were always ut
war. During the whole Of my childhood,
and for II good many years afterward, tho
talk was all of war. For fivc-and-twenty
years England was fighting. On the
south coast the war might at any moment
become more than n rumor; there was no
aeason why u r ~ pliaaaeea 7nouau n1'
E, ~ y. = w aoa ,n,s.'. 10 ~ ai
~ IaS, ~. o"s. W. IN n:.
o o,an. -" a. - !" ~ ."a, ~. ~.
sm.sh.o = ~ .'el"s WIS n",sa.as
" Nv T v.' a'"a ~ y me.
~ liz inc.
VI. i.lisl.s'i'"i N " oiis Hui 'a'is ine
.Hei.e Euls' my iM. S.ne ~ sn,t lort
Witt ,!rl'ls Ileessa,lls; .!e n'sl,snniall
sl"!u'lis ie"'cils Nv uht'ice; ~ ius.
,ney ea,,e 10 c,ose luai.eis' anu "',r men
Doaiueo aer. on, WIN. u s,sn.. ~ vas
w a VI, . w " s.e ~ hoilols VI nat,
ueLthe aeau an. "ou'uea' nu. VI .o"iu
Iiah. ou', M'et nv s'i'onc cie"itu away,
1,ia. ~ ''l'un JaeA "as i"i up "n.ie tne
riench ll.S '!''' peei .s'is' an" i,ah soi-
emmy, WIN tears III MS eyes thahke" 'Ie
uoa " .lc'oiS' IL ""SH brave anu sal.
Ialt action, 'hey ihaoe inc coinhihliocr OF
sent him out TO jamaica, where they for
~. L. ~ yin pici1y
the way they used to treat orr brave sail
ora. Thirty wears afterward he came
home still ~ first licutcnant. and bald. Inv
reason of the MANY men who had climbed
n over his head.
Haa vans, how hrora ,,,r non wero and
-.
W Wau neats tney ougnt me cut ou1
rlehcn sn'pS unuel tne guns VI tnel, wv